Former Union Minister and BJP leader Dinesh Trivedi has been appointed India’s next envoy to Bangladesh as the two neighbors look to reset ties.
As the first political appointee in the district after a long time, Trivedi He will replace career diplomat Pranay Verma, who moves to Brussels as India’s ambassador to the European Union.
Trivedi’s appointment comes at a time when India and Bangladesh are trying to repair their relationship after the Muhammad Yunus debacle and the dismissal of the then Prime Minister. Sheikh Hasina in a coup, with the army and police refusing to shoot the instigators. During Yunus’ tenure, relations between India and Bangladesh deteriorated, as the senior advisor was unable to contain sectarian violence against the minority community in Bangladesh.
Now that The Narendra Modi government has sent Dinesh Trivedi to Dhaka, and here’s a look at who India’s new high commissioner to Bangladesh will be.
Who is Dinesh Trivedi?
Dinesh Trivedi is a former Member of Parliament from Barrackpore in West Bengal. He also served as Union Minister during Dr. Manmohan Singh’s UPA era as a member of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), and served as Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and then the Railway Ministry portfolio.
Trivedi famously resigned after the 2012 Railway Budget, in which he proposed raising passenger fares to improve safety and modernize the railways. He was forced to resign by the West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee.
He served in the Lok Sabha from 2009 to 2019, representing Barrackpore on a TMC ticket. Before this, he was also a member of Rajya Sabha from 1990 to 1996, from 2002 to 2008 and again from 2020 to 2021.
In March 2021, he resigned from his Rajya Sabha seat and joined the TMC Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
More about Dinesh Trivedi away from politics
Dinesh Trivedi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (B.Com) from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. He then obtained a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Texas at Austin in the United States.
Apart from being a politician, Trivedi is also a trained pilot and previously ran his own air cargo company. He was also an activist who played a crucial role in the Right to Information (RTI) movement by petitioning the Supreme Court to publish the Vohra Report on the criminal-politician nexus.
